Government

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book depicts only intermittent spots of economic growth, with residential real estate markets across the country characterized as ""sluggish,"" and commercial real estate garnering a descriptor of ""weak."" Nearly all 12 Fed districts reported a slow-down in housing activity since the homebuyer tax credit expired. Most reported lending standards to be restrictive, with loan delinquencies above historic norms.

U.S. Reps. John Lewis, David Scott, and Hank Johnson have joined forces with HUD, the U.S. Department of Treasury, the HOPE NOW Alliance, and NeighborWorks America for an upcoming event aimed at helping financially troubled homeowners in the Atlanta area. The event, dubbed the ""Help for Homeowners"" project, is scheduled for July 30 and July 31. Nearly 20 of the area's top lenders will be available at the event to meet one-on-one with area residents who are struggling to pay their mortgages. The event, dubbed the Help for Homeowners project, is scheduled for July 30 and July 31.

As part of an ongoing effort against scams that target financially distressed consumers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has banned several marketers from selling mortgage modification or foreclosure relief services. According to the FTC, the marketers allegedly charged homeowners up-front fees and falsely claimed they could get their mortgage modified or prevent foreclosure on their homes. Settlements regarding these allegations have been met through three separate actions.

Faced with growing criticism of its Making Home Affordable foreclosure prevention program, the Obama administration is turning to the tried and true method of advertising to raise public awareness of the program and encourage homeowners who are struggling with their mortgage payments to seek assistance from the federal government. The Advertising Council, in partnership with the U.S. Treasury and HUD, announced plans Wednesday to launch a national public service announcement (PSA) campaign about the Making Home Affordable program.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are beginning to initiate foreclosures at a faster pace. According to a new study from Lender Processing Services (LPS), GSE foreclosure starts have been accelerating and are currently at all-time highs. From May to June, foreclosures initiated by Fannie and Freddie jumped 21 percent. LPS says the recent momentum coincides with Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) cancellations, with most of the increase and volume concentrated in the very late stages of delinquency.

The nation's foreclosure crisis and economic pressures, such as rising unemployment, continue to batter the U.S. housing market, as evidenced by the latest figures from the Census Bureau on homeownership rates. Data released by the federal agency Tuesday shows that the U.S. homeownership rate dropped to 66.9 percent during the second quarter of this year, hitting its lowest mark in more than 10 years.

The Federal Housing Administration's Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) is ruling with an iron fist. So far this year, the MRB has taken action against almost 1,500 FHA-approved lenders who failed to meet its requirements, according to a notice published Monday in the Federal Register. Of the lenders facing penalties from the MRB, 905 have lost FHA approval for a period of one year. The federal agency reached a $700,000 settlement agreement with CitiMortgage over allegations that the lender failed to accurately report loan delinquencies.

The Obama administration said Tuesday that it plans to deliver a proposal for housing finance reform to Congress by January 2011. Government officials will hold a conference on August 17 at the Treasury building in Washington D.C. to solicit input from industry stakeholders on the future of the housing finance system, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. The White House says the ""heads private shareholders win, tails taxpayers lose"" structure at the GSEs makes no sense for the nation...and change is coming.

Last month, Fannie Mae announced new policy changes intended to deter financially competent homeowners from walking away from their mortgage obligation by imposing stiffer penalties for strategic default - a phenomenon that has become increasingly more common as home prices have plummeted and more and more borrowers find that they owe more on their mortgage than the home is worth. But the analysts at Moody's Investors Service say the GSE may encounter snags ahead since figuring out who to penalize for strategically walking away will be a significant challenge and implementing the policy could be difficult.

The FDIC has amassed a large portfolio of nonperforming real estate loans seized from failed banks. While the agency has managed to broker deals with most acquiring institutions recently to absorb ""essentially all"" of the failed banks' loans, some transaction announcements still contain the language, ""the FDIC will retain the remaining assets for later disposition."" In order to fast-track the sale of these assets, the FDIC is turning to the secondary market, with an offering of $409 million of mortgage bonds from 17 bank closings expected to price mid-week.